What Should Be
by brady66
Summary: How I hope the mid season finale and the rest of the season goes as far as Beth and Daryl are concerned. This is a Bethyl one-shot!


_*****I had this running thru my head and wanted to write it before the mid season finale! This is how I want it to go down if I can't get my Bethyl reunion right away. I hope you love it*****_

"Carol, can you hear me? It's Beth" the young blonde said softly as she held Carol's hand and rubbed it softly. Up until a few day ago, she had been prepared to fight her way out of the hospital prison she had been forced into or die trying. That all changed when they wheeled Carol in, unconscious and hurt. Now all she could focus on was getting her better and trying to think of a plan to get them both out of there.

She had talked back to the cop that wanted to take Carol off of life support to save power and she thought it was almost decided that Carol would die when Dawn agreed with him. But what surprised Beth was Dawn telling her she had to save Carol herself, so there she was, injecting into her IV the medicine to help wake her up and talking to her softly. Tons of thoughts ran thru her head as she watched Carol lay there. Was she on her own or did she have a new group? Maybe she had found some of their family. Maybe she had found Daryl.

Daryl, she tried not to think about him if she could stop it. It caused a pit to form in her stomach every time she did. Those piercing blue eyes that stared her down right before the dog barked and her world crumbled. They were the last things she saw when she closed her eyes at night and the first things she thought of before she woke up. She knew he was alive, that was never a worry. She knew he would be the last one standing but she hated the thought of him being alone. She prayed every night to her Dad that he had found their family and was safe. It broke her heart thinking that maybe he thought she had abandoned him.

She was brought out of her thoughts by a moan and the gentle squeeze of her hand.

"Carol, it's ok. It's Beth" she said softly as she moved to stroke her face. Carol's eyes opened, panic spreading across her features till her eyes locked on Beth's.

"Beth, were are we? Are we in the hospital?" Carol asked groggily as she looked around. Beth nodded

"Yeah Grady Memorial. How did you know about the hospital?" Beth asked her as she helped the injured woman sit up.

"Daryl...Daryl and I came to rescue you". Carol got out before she winced in pain. Beth's stomach flipped and she got light headed. Daryl had come with Carol. But then fear set in.

"Daryl? You were with Daryl? Is he ok?" Beth asked frantically. Carol smiled just a tad at the tone in Beth's voice. If she was unsure before, she knew now that Beth was the reason for the change in Daryl.

"He was fine. I'm sure he still is. We ran into your friend Noah and he told us about this place". She said as she gently raised her arm and placed her hand on Beth's cheek. She could see the anger in Carol's eyes as she looked at her scars.

"Dawn did this one" she said as she pointed to the one on her temple. "This one I woke up with" she then added as she pointed to the one on her cheek.

"So you and Daryl found Noah?" Beth asked, changing the subject after a few moments. Carol nodded and started to fill Beth in on everything. Tears formed in her eyes when Beth heard that not only had Daryl been reunited with Carol but that he had found everybody. The tears got worse when she found out that included Maggie and Judith.

"We need to figure out how to get out of here Beth before Daryl tries to take out the whole place with just himself and Noah". Carol said as she started to move more. A twinge in Beth's gut knew a Carol was right.

"Yeah now that you are in here, he will do anything to get you out" Beth said, knowing how protective Daryl was of Carol. Carol grabbed her hand, causing Beth to look up at her.

"It's not just me he is after. He has been on a mission since that car took you. Do you know he ran all night after it? He didn't care about nothing but finding you. He never gave up hope that you were alive". Carol said, seeing the tears forming again in Beth's eyes. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It caused that rumble in her stomach she got when she would think about Daryl to grow bigger. He never gave up on her. She took a breath and looked at Carol, a sly grin spreading across her lips.

"Let's get out of this hell hole before he tries to blow it down! They have no idea who they are messing with". Beth said as she squeezed her hand.

/

Beth had a gun in one hand and Carol's arm around her shoulder, helping her get out of the hospital as the bullets flew. Earlier, she had overheard Dawn on the radio with somebody. When she heard the voice on the other end say "I'm Rick Grimes and you have two of our people, Beth and Carol" her heart stopped beating for a second, then her mind raced. She took off for Carol's room, locking it behind her as she came in. Carol looked up at her panicked face.

"We gotta go. Daryl went and got the group. Rick is trying to negotiate for us. It won't work, I know Dawn. She will kill us first" Beth said as she unhooked Carol's fluids. Carol started to move out of the bed, Beth by her side.

They had made their way down the hall to the one stair case that Beth knew of. She snuck up behind the cop standing guard and hit him over the head with a hammer she had found a day earlier. They had made it all the way to the ground floor, Beth only having to take out a few walkers along the way. As they came out the front doors, Beth could make out shapes across the parking lot, the outline of a cross bow made her heart sing. As they got closer she could see his face, he looked a little more worn, his hair a little longer, but those eyes still held so much feeling. Her eyes were locked on his as they made their way toward them. He had ran up to the gate, firing his gun to remove the padlock. When he looked back up, his expression had changed to panic.

"Look out Beth" he screamed. She turned just as Dawn swung and hit her with the butt of her gun. Carol turned as Beth started to fall.

"Run Carol" Beth commanded as she stood back up, facing Dawn. She aimed her gun at her as Carol made her way over to Daryl and the rest of the group.

"What are you gunna do? You don't have the stomach" Dawn started, but Beth didn't let her finish, she fired her gun, shooting Dawn between the eyes. When she did, she heard somebody behind her scream out "NO"

Turning around, she saw the doctor holding something in his hand, then Daryl's mouth move, screaming her name and suddenly she was surrounded by white hot noise, then nothing but darkness.

/

Beth had made it out of the explosion but couldn't find Daryl or the rest of her group when she finally got out of the rubble. Her heart sank thinking that Daryl and the rest of the group really thought she was dead now. She decided to head toward the church that Carol told her about, hoping they went back there.

She had dodged a lot of walkers in Atlanta and finally found a car she could hotwire. "Something else she had to thank Daryl for" she thought to herself as it rumbled to a start.

The church was empty when she got there, causing her heart to plummet even further. She could see the remnants of when they had been there, walker traps and all the safe guards still up. As she laid down on one of the pews, something caught her eye under the one in front of her. She leaned down and picked up a bolt. As she gingerly touched it she thought of it's owner. How he had done everything to find her and get her back. It was very unlike him to leave the bolt. She put it in her pocket and laid back, determination spreading across her face. "You didn't give up on me, I won't give up till I find you Daryl,,,,, find all of you" she said as she sighed and closed her eyes.

/

She had been at the church for a few days. She scavenged a few nearby places, finding some clothes, canned food and a back pack. As she started to head out that next morning to start her trek to DC, she saw a guy in a huge coat come out of the woods. His face was covered.

"Stop right there" she said as she held up her gun. He put his hands in the air.

"I'm just looking for a friend of mine, Rick Grimes, My name is Morgan" he said as he pulled the hood off of his head. Beth let out a sigh and lowered her weapon. She had heard Rick talk about Morgan before.

/

It took both of them longer than they thought to go North. The car Beth had taken from Atlanta had gotten them to Virginia before it broke down. Beth was thankful for that. She was also thankful for her new friend. Morgan was quiet, not Daryl quiet but still quiet. After they got used to each other and learned to trust each other, they opened up about their lives and their losses. Morgan understood her need to find her group, to find Maggie and to find Daryl. He felt that same need to find Rick. Beth smiled, proud of how many lives their leader had helped.

When the car broke down, they came upon a group that was out scavenging. They said they had walls and safety.

"What's this place called" Beth asked as she eyed them up and down. They seemed ok enough but after everything they had been thru, she was weary.

"Alexandria safe zone" the young guy named Nathan said. He was about Beth's age, had shaggy blond hair and blue eyes. Beth would have thought he was attractive if her mind wasn't filled with another set of blue eyes, broad shoulders and dark hair. She looked for him and their family the entire way there, but found nothing. Her faith was starting to fade but her heart kept telling her to not give up.

"Are you sure it's ok for us to come stay?" Morgan asked. The rest of the group nodded with smiles. Beth raised her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders. What did they have to lose really. With that, they both followed the group back to the safe zone. It was soo cold, Beth had her hood tightly around her head, and a scarf Morgan had found wrapped around her face.

She grabbed Morgan's arm in awe when they came out of the woods and saw the walls in front of them.

"Oh my" she breathed as they walked closer.

"Open the gate, they are back" they heard somebody call from the top of the wall. Since the sun was setting, Beth could only make out figures on the wall. As they entered the huge gate, Morgan pulled her behind him, just in case something was fishy, he had done this a few times on the road, when they came across a few unfriendly people.

"We have two new people" she heard Nathan tell somebody. She couldn't make them out, being tucked behind Morgan. When she felt Morgan tense for a moment, she moved her hand to her knife. But then, just as fast as he tensed, he eased up and took his hood off. Then her heart jumped a little at what she heard.

"Morgan?". She heard, knowing that voice anywhere. She slowly walked around Morgan, taking off her scarf and hood.

"Beth oh my god!" Rick said softly, his voice hitching when he spoke. She nodded and walked toward him. In an instant she was pulled into a hug. She barely heard Rick tell Nathan to get Maggie as her tears fell.

"How?" Rick asked as he pulled away. Before she had a chance to speak she heard another voice, beautiful and loving.

"Bethy" Maggie cried as she rushed for her sister. As she crushed into her, the tears were falling again.

"They said you were dead. They said you couldn't have survived the explosion" Maggie was sobbing into her hair.

"I should have believed Daryl. He wanted to keep looking, he said you were alive, but we had to get out of there. I'm so sorry Beth" Rick said as he touched her arm. Beth's heart skipped at just the mention of the man that always filled her dreams. She was just about to ask about him when she heard the sound of something crashing to the ground

"Beth" she heard him say, his tone a mixture of gruff and disbelief. She turned toward him as Maggie let her go and everything seemed to happen in slow motion and rapid speed at the same time. Before her was Daryl, his blue eyes shining thru the moonlight, like beacons guiding her home. She rushed him after just giving it a second thought and flung her arms around him. She was surprised when his arms wrapped tightly around her and picked her up in his arms. She felt tears hitting the top of her head and felt his chin resting there too as he hugged her. She drank his scent in, that familiar sent of leather and pine that was only his. The scent she wouldn't let herself think she would ever smell again.

"I'm so sorry Beth. I shouldn't have left you. I knew you were alive. But I gave up. Can you forgive me?" He asked, softly sobbing into her hair. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and looked up at him, a smile spreading across her face as she looked into those amazing eyes.

"Nothing to forgive! You were the one that got me here. You are the reason I'm alive." She said as she moved her hand off of him and dug into her jean pocket for the one prized possession he probably had no idea he left. When she placed the bolt in his hand, he looked up at her, eyebrow raised.

"It was yours, so it made me feel like you were right beside me. You got me thru everything." She said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Daryl sighed and leaned down, resting his head on her shoulder.

"I missed you so bad when you were gone Beth. I don't ever want to let you go" he breathed into her ear. A fire tingled all thru Beth as she looked up at him and gently placed her hand on his cheek.

"Then don't let me go" she said softly as she leaned up and kissed him. He kissed her back with a hunger, wrapping his arms even more tightly around her.

"I never will" he whispered in her ear as his arms held her to him. Beth finally feeling safe and whole again.


End file.
